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The Biden administration on Tuesday offered a preview of the student loan forgiveness application website, which it called “short and simple” ahead of its planned launch later this month.
In August, President Joe Biden announced his decision to write off up to $10,000 in student loan debt for people making less than $125,000 a year or up to $20,000 for eligible borrowers who are also beneficiaries of the Pell grant.
Officials said the website will be available “by the end of this month” and that applications will be open until December 2023, but declined to provide a specific launch date. The form was shared with reporters via a PDF file Tuesday as they prepare to begin the process.
“We’ve worked really hard to make this app simple and easy. We kept the number of questions to a minimum and designed it in collaboration with user testing. Borrowers won’t need to sign in with their FSA ID. They won’t need to upload any documents. The application will be available on both computers and mobile devices. It will be available in both English and Spanish and, of course, accessible to people with disabilities,” a senior official of the administration
The application form includes information about debt relief, who collects it and how it works. It asks applicants for information such as their full names, Social Security number, date of birth, phone number and an email address.
A second administration official said “the vast majority of borrowers, nearly 95 percent with qualifying loans, meet the income requirement,” adding that there will be “strict fraud prevention measures.”
The form said the Department of Education would determine eligibility and contact applicants if more information was needed.
Borrowers must have federal student loans to qualify. In addition to Federal Direct Loans used to pay for an undergraduate degree, Federal PLUS Loans taken out by graduate students and parents may also be eligible if the borrower meets income requirements.
Borrowers whose federal student loans are guaranteed by the government but held by private lenders, many of which were made under the former Federal Family Education Loan Program and the current Perkins Federal Loan Program are excluded, unless a borrower requests to consolidate these loans into direct loans. for September 29.
Individuals who earned less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of household who earned less than $250,000 annually in those years are eligible to have up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven. Income thresholds are based on adjusted gross income.
If a qualified borrower also received a federal Pell Grant while enrolled in college, the individual is eligible for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness. The Department of Education already has information on who has received a Pell grant, and borrowers will not have to prove that they have received the aid to receive the additional aid.
After submitting the application, most qualified borrowers are expected to receive debt relief within a few weeks.
Officials said the “goal” is to start processing debt relief before next January, when student loan payments will begin after a multi-year freeze amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We hope and expect to provide student debt relief to millions of Americans before loan payments resume. And we hope that the process from a completed application to debt relief for the great most borrowers will pass in a matter of weeks,” the first official said.
The Department of Education is facing several lawsuits challenging the student loan forgiveness policy. A US district judge could decide Wednesday whether to temporarily block the program from taking effect.
Administration officials confirmed Tuesday that they still expect the app to be available in October.
The Department of Education already has information on who has a qualified federal loan. For some borrowers, it also has their income information, due to previously submitted financial aid forms or applications for income-based repayment plans.
But the Department of Education does not have income information for millions of borrowers. All borrowers will be required to self-certify that they meet the income requirements.
Borrowers will be required to agree to a number of conditions, including verification that they are the applicant and that, if requested, they will provide proof of income to the Department for Education. They must also certify that the information provided is accurate under penalty of perjury.
Administration officials said applicants who are “most likely to exceed the income cutoff” will be required to submit additional information, such as a tax transcript. Officials did not provide further details on who may be asked to provide additional income information.
There will be a multi-step process to prevent fraud, administration officials said, noting that only 5 percent of borrowers with federal student loans would not qualify because of the income threshold.
Efforts are also underway to ensure that the website does not crash amid the expected high demand from borrowers, including additional support for web traffic and web volume.
This story has been updated with additional information.